Senior Troy Woolfolk could start at either cornerback or safety.

With the recruiting class of 2010 signed, Michigan football fans can officially turn their attention to spring practice, and ultimately how the team will look come fall. With some assistance from MGoBlog’s depth chart by class and the resources available at The Wolverine (including Michael Spath’s very early look at the 2011 depth chart and Matt Pargoff’s in-depth look at this year’s recruiting class), I’ve done my best to project how the depth chart will look like this fall. Yesterday, I took a look at the offense. Today, it’s the defense’s turn.

I’ve tried to include every notable scholarship player, including all the true freshmen. Because of this, and the uncertainty of many player’s positions heading into spring practice, I recommend taking the positions listed below with a grain of salt, especially along the offensive line and defensive secondary — at this point, it’s far too early to know who will be playing where. Instead, I wanted to do this to get a feel for the talent and depth of the team, and also be able to use this as a reference for player eligibility. For player eligibility, I’m using what MGoBlog has listed, and for player heights and weights I’m referring to last year’s official roster or Rivals’ recruiting data — I’ll do my best to note if a player has made reported weight gains or losses where applicable. Without further ado, let’s check out the depth chart:

Defensive Line: Despite the loss of Brandon Graham, the defensive line should be the best unit for the Michigan defense in 2010. The key will be the development of sophomore Will Campbell, who has the size and talent to be a very good nose tackle. With Campbell eating space in the middle, junior Mike Martin can slide over the DT position played by Ryan Van Bergen last season, which is more suitable for a player of his size and skill set. Van Bergen, a natural end, should have no problem moving to Graham’s vacated DE spot. Throw in a full offseason of weight training for sophomore Craig Roh, who started at the Quick position last season despite not enrolling early, and a unit that was noticeably undersized in 2009 should be athletic and big in 2010. As for the backups, redshirt freshman Anthony LaLota will be a player to watch at defensive end, while senior Renaldo Sagesse will likely be the primary backup at both tackle positions. There is a lot of talent among the incoming freshmen, but the rotation could be tough to crack for players who are a little undersized (Wilkins, Black, Talbott) or out of shape (Ash, who is rumored to currently weigh over 300 pounds). Seniors Adam Patterson and Greg Banks will provide depth, but given their careers to date, I wouldn’t expect much more than that from them.

Linebacker: Michigan has a lot of experience at linebacker, but you could say the same about last year’s disappointing unit. Seniors Obi Ezeh and Jonas Mouton are your prohibitive favorites to start in the middle and on the weak side, respectively, but their underwhelming performances last season have opened up an opportunity for younger players to earn a starting role. Junior J.B. Fitzgerald saw playing time last season when Ezeh was benched, and with another season of experience he probably has the best shot at unseating one of the senior linebackers, although athletic redshirt sophomore Kenny Demens and former walk-on Kevin Leach will also compete for snaps. The position battle to watch may be over at spinner, where the graduation of Stevie Brown has opened a starting spot. Second-year players Isaiah Bell, Brandin Hawthorne, and Mike Jones all practiced at spinner last year, and all three should get an opportunity to see a lot of playing time in 2010 (although Bell might have grown into the WLB spot — he’s got 15-20 pounds on Hawthorne and Jones). I haven’t seen any of the three since last spring, but I like Hawthorne — the only one of the three to play linebacker in high school, and a great athlete — as the favorite for the spinner position. Of the true freshmen, Josh Furman probably has the best shot of earning playing time, also at the spinner position, while we can expect Antonio Kinard and Jake Ryan to redshirt in 2010.

Secondary: This is where things get crazy. The only guarantee for Michigan’s 2010 secondary is that Troy Woolfolk will start — only we don’t know whether he’ll be starting at cornerback or safety. I think Woolfolk will end up at safety for a couple reasons: (1) the safeties have to make pre-snap checks, something that I trust a senior to do much more than a freshman and (2) cornerback is a much easier position to come in and play immediately as a freshman. I expect Woolfolk to start at strong safety (the deep safety in Michigan’s defense) alongside redshirt freshman Vlad Emilien — a player some thought should have seen the field in 2009 — at free safety. True freshmen Marvin Robinson and Carvin Johnson, redshirt freshman Thomas Gordon, redshirt sophomore Jordan Kovacs and junior Mike Williams will also compete for a spot at safety, but I think Emilien will ultimately win the job (in this case, it might be an advantage to have not played last year).

At corner, I expect redshirt freshman J.T. Turner — one of the highest-rated prospects Michigan brought in last year and a standout on the scout team — to start, and true freshman Demar Dorsey is too talented to keep off the field next season. True freshmen Cullen Christian and Terrence Talbott, as well as redshirt sophomore J.T. Floyd, will also compete for playing time, but I think the pure talent of Turner and Dorsey will be a lot to overcome. If you’re keeping score, that means I think Michigan will start a senior, two redshirt freshmen, and a true freshman in their secondary next year. The talent level and the experience are both scary, but in very different senses of the word.

Punter: True freshman and Army All-American Will Hagerup will have the first shot at the vacated punter position, and I expect he’ll be the guy to take over from the immortal Zoltan Mesko. Kickoff specialist Bryan Wright has a big leg and could be called upon to handle punting duties if, for some reason, Hagerup doesn’t win the job.

Similar Posts:

• Knight to Rutgers & Your Signing Day Primer
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• Recruiting Update: Part II (Rounding Out the Class)
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Please don't change your mind. Please.

Yesterday I took my (very) early look at the 2010 offense. Today, we take a look at the dark side of the moon defense, which should return nine starters from a unit that, well, stunk in 2009. [Note: I will be referring to players by what class they will be in for 2010. For example, Donovan Warren will be referred to as a senior.]

Defensive End: Might as well get this out of the way — Brandon Graham will be sorely missed, no matter how good his replacements are. It’s tough to replace 10.5 sacks and 26 tackles for loss with three guys (which may be what Michigan tries to do), let alone expecting just one player to step and come close to replicating that type of production. Michigan does return starter Ryan Van Bergen, who put up a solid season and could slide over into Graham’s vacated spot. He’s got the size to hold down the strong side of the line, and his five sacks show he has the ability to get to the quarterback. The other DE spot is very much up for grabs — Greg Banks and Adam Patterson are both redshirt seniors who have failed to make much of an impact in their four years in the program, while redshirt freshman Anthony LaLota was an Army All-American who could vault ahead of both seniors based on his prodigious talent. Incoming freshman Ken Wilkins has the frame to be a DE down the road, but at 6-4, 244, he’ll probably take a redshirt year. The hybrid LB/DE spot has a lot fewer questions, as Craig Roh came in the fall and locked down the starting role as a true freshman. If he adds some bulk, he could become a real force as a pass-rusher and speedy playmaker on the edge. Junior Brandon Herron will return as his backup, and incoming freshman Jordan Paskorz will provide depth, although he will likely redshirt as well given the returning players at the positon.

Defensive Tackle: There’s a lot of promise at DT for the Wolverines, with talented junior Mike Martin returning along with senior Renaldo Sagesse and sophomore (and former five-star recruit) Will Campbell. Martin struggled a bit as he adapted to playing the nose tackle in Greg Robinson’s hybrid defense, but was still one of the Wolverines’ most consistent performers on defense. Both Sagesse and Campbell showed solid improvement as the season wore on, and should get solid playing time in 2010. One possibility that has been thrown around by Michigan fans is for Martin to slide over to Van Bergen’s position, with Van Bergen taking Graham’s DE spot and Sagesse or Campbell taking over at nose tackle. If Sagesse or Campbell can hold their ground at nose tackle, I like this possibility, as it frees up Martin to be more of a threat to penetrate into the backfield (something he did with regularity as a freshman) and gives Michigan more size up front to stop the running game. We’ll have to wait until the spring, at the earliest, to see if this is an option. Michigan has also secured a commitment from DT Terry Talbott, but at 6-4, 255, he’ll probably take a redshirt year to add some weight before he sees the field.

Linebacker: If it wasn’t for the safeties, no position group would scare me as much as the linebackers (and it’s pretty close, anyway). Stevie Brown, who turned into Michigan’s most consistent linebacker in 2009, is gone from the weakside spot, leaving seniors Obi Ezeh and Jonas Mouton as the Wolverines’ returning starters. Ezeh and Mouton both took steps back this fall, struggling to the point of being benched multiple times in the latter half of the season. The Wolverines will need to see more aggressiveness from Ezeh, more discipline from Mouton, and a better understanding of Robinson’s schemes from both if the defense is going to improve substantially next year. Both will face competition, as redshirt junior (and former walk-on) Kevin Leach and juniors J.B. Fitzgerald and Kenny Demens all saw the field last season. Fitzgerald, a former four-star recruit, has the best change to take one of the middle linebacker spots, but don’t sleep on Demens, who saw limited action but is an athletic freak who could emerge as an upperclassman. The competition is even more open for Brown’s old spot, with sophomore Brandin Hawthorne and redshirt freshmen Isaiah Bell and Mike Jones all in the mix, potentially joined by redshirt sophomore Brandon Smith, who bounced between linebacker and safety but looks more promising (in my opinion) as a linebacker candidate. The bad news for Michigan is this position group played very poorly in 2009, and loses their best player. The good news is that there are a lot of talented players vying for just three spots. Hopefully some spirited competition, as well as a year of experience under Robinson, will fuel some better play in 2010.

Cornerback: Despite losing Boubacar Cissoko, and having a revolving door at the second cornerback spot all season, this group actually looks like it will have a lot of depth next season. Senior Donovan Warren has said that he will return next season (he will ask the NFL about his draft status, but unless he gets told he’ll be a first-rounder, he’ll likely be back), giving Michigan a lock-down cornerback on one side of the field. The status of the other corner spot will be determined by senior Troy Woolfolk, and specifically whether he’ll stay at corner or return to safety. If he does stay at corner, he’ll be the man opposite Warren, and his solid performance in 2009 — despite being moved from safety mid-season — gives Michigan a chance to have two very dependable cornerbacks in 2010. Redshirt sophomore J.T. Floyd will be back, and should provide depth or potentially start if Woolfolk is a safety, and sophomore Teric Jones should improve with a full year at cornerback under his belt. Redshirt freshman Justin Turner is the big wild card here — the highly-touted prospect was being hailed as the next great Wolverine corner before academic issues forced a redshirt. He could see the field — and start — at either corner or safety, depending on need and his ability to adapt to the college game. Michigan also has commitments from three cornerback prospects — Courtney Avery, Terrence Talbott, and Adrian Witty (who qualified after sitting out last season and enroll in January) — and are the favorites for Rivals100 prospect Cullen Christian (who will announce his decision tonight) and three-star Tony Grimes. Senior James Rodgers, who has bounced around between receiver and defensive back his whole career, will also provide depth. That’s a lot of bodies at corner, so we could (and probably will) see at least one player switch over to safety. It feels strange to say this, but I’m actually confident that the cornerbacks will be a strong point of the defense in 2010.

Safety: Oh, boy. This position was a total disaster in 2009, with Michigan trying everything from a freshman walk-on (Jordan Kovacs) to a safety-turned-linebacker-turned-safety (Brandon Smith) to just playing Donovan Warren in a deep half from the cornerback position. Michigan does return both starters, Kovacs and Mike Williams, but neither player’s job is remotely safe. Redshirt freshman Vladimir Emilien will have a shot at the starting job, and Woolfolk would be almost guaranteed a spot if he moved over. Justin Turner is also a possibility, as well as Brandon Smith and J.T. Floyd, and even redshirt freshman Thomas Gordon and walk-ons Floyd Simmons and Jared Van Slyke. In fact, you may have a shot as well. It’s that open. I’d be crazy to even begin to guess who will be playing safety when Michigan opens against UConn next fall, so the conjecture ends here. This position group could be anything from the unmitigated disaster it was in 2009 to passably competent, and anywhere in between.

Outlook: Well, the defense certainly can’t be worse than this year’s. Losing Graham will hurt tremendously, but expected improvement across the board for the rest of the defense should mean that this team will be better in 2010. How much better will depend on a wild variety of factors, especially the personnel at linebacker and in the secondary — it’s far too early to guess, and as we found out this year, even the best guesses can be horribly, horribly wrong. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Similar Posts:

• Michigan’s Team of the Decade: Defensive Ends
• Michigan’s Team of the Decade: Cornerbacks
• An Early Stab at the 2010 Depth Chart: Defense
• Recruiting Update: Part II (Rounding Out the Class)
• Michigan’s Team of the Decade: Defense

Jailbreak!

I just finished watching a large chunk of the Penn State-Minnesota game from last week (the torrent started coverage with around four minutes left in the first quarter, with PSU up 6-0, thanks to the Texas-Oklahoma game running long, and I stopped watching once PSU put the game out of reach), and have some observations from the tape:

• This should come as a bit of a surprise, considering Penn State racked up 177 yards on 43 carries against Minnesota, but I actually came away relatively unimpressed with their run game. There were generally two outcomes when they handed the ball off: There was the good, when Royster would find a seam, break the first tackle (Minnesota tackled horribly in the game) and get to the next level before getting taken down 8-20 yards downfield. Then there was the bad, when the offensive line allowed far too much penetration and Royster (or whoever was getting the carry) go nowhere. 21 of Penn State’s 43 carries went for three yards for less, and many of those looked like the play pictured above. This would make sense against a defense like, say, Penn State’s, but Minnesota is 87th in the country in rush defense. Michigan certainly isn’t great at rush D, but they do have several quick guys who can get into the backfield, and that could give Penn State a lot of trouble on Saturday. Further breakdown of the run play pictured above after the jump.
• Darryl Clark is very tough to figure out. On some plays, his mechanics are perfect, and he looks like an NFL quarterback that can fit a pass pretty much anywhere he wants to. On other plays, it appears that his mechanics completely fall apart, and he throws some very ugly balls. He had one pass, in particular, where he stepped up in the pocket, failed to set his feet, and completely overthrew a wide open receiver that had three steps on the defense and would have scored an easy touchdown. One thing I will say about Clark: he is a big, big dude, and when he runs it takes a solid tackle (and often, a solid tackle by several players) to take him down.
• Look out for Andrew Quarless, Penn State’s tight end. He caught a couple crossing routes when Minnesota brought heat, and Clark tended to look his way when facing pressure. Michigan’s linebackers better be aware of where he is on the field, especially when a blitz is called. He already has 21 catches for 224 yards this season and showed some nice hands against the Gophers.
• I’m not sure how much this was a function of Minnesota’s defense, but Penn State’s line performed far better in the passing game than the run game. They consistently gave Clark a nice pocket to throw from and a long time to pick apart the defense, and the Lions’ wide receivers were able to take advantage by finding holes in the Gopher defense. Michigan has had a very tough time getting to the quarterback this year, and that may continue this weekend.
• I don’t have a whole lot on the Penn State defense, since Minnesota runs a completely different offense from Michigan and generally appeared inept last week. One thing I did notice, however, was the aggressiveness of their linebackers — they fly to the ball and hit hard, especially Navorro Bowman. The Gophers did use this to their advantage on one play, setting up a screen that would have gone for big yardage, but Adam Weber threw a terrible pass that the running back couldn’t haul in. Look for Michigan to try to do something similar — we could see a lot of Carlos Brown leaking out of the backfield, a la the Indiana game.

Take all of this with a big grain of salt — it’s a pretty small amount of data from a game against Minnesota. However, keep an eye out for this stuff come Saturday — I expected to watch this game and see Penn State completely dominate, and while their defense delivered, I didn’t get the same impression from their offense. I think this team is beatable, although Michigan will have to play a great game to overcome that D.

Now for that run breakdown: Continue reading Watching Tape: Penn State-Minnesota

Similar Posts:

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• Michigan’s Team of the Decade: Defense

Greg Mathews will need to step up against Notre Dame.

It’s time for another round of “Five Things I Hope to See…”. How did Michigan do last week? Believe it or not, quite freakin’ well:

1. Minimal turnovers from the quarterbacks — I believe zero qualifies as ‘minimal’.
2. Solid play from the starting corners — Besides a couple overzealous plays resulting in pass interference calls, Donovan Warren had a great game, and Boubacar Cissoko was very solid before leaving the game early with an injury. So, check.
3. An outside receiver steps up — Hello, Junior Hemingway.
4. Michigan gets pressure on Tim Hiller — The Wolverines only recorded two sacks, but were constantly hounding Hiller, forcing several rushed throws and a couple interceptions. Check.
5. The offense opens up — Compared to last year, this absolutely happened. The added screen element to the zone read is a huge addition to the offense, and the team’s knowledge of the offense is miles ahead of where it was last year.

So, yeah, five out of five isn’t too shabby. However, Notre Dame poses a much more formidable challenge. What does Michigan need to do to take down the Fighting Irish?

1. Force the Irish to become one-dimensional — Despite having a ton of success through the air against Nevada (the worst team in the country against the pass last year), Notre Dame only managed 4.3 yards per carry on 41 attempts in their opening game. Granted, some of that came while killing clock, but the greater point remains: Michigan has the ability to shut down the Irish run game, and if they do so, the Wolverines can focus on avoiding the big play and getting pressure on Jimmy Clausen. Speaking of which…
2. Get pressure on Jimmy Clausen — Duh, I know, but this will be huge for Michigan. Anyone who watched the highlights from the Nevada game saw what Clausen can do when he has the time to set his feet and step into a throw; the guy has deadly accuracy and receivers that will get open. However, Clausen has not done well when facing pressure in his career; he has a tendency to get happy feet in the pocket and make poor decisions when the defense is bearing down on him. Notre Dame will almost certainly be doubling Brandon Graham at every opportunity, so Craig Roh, Mike Martin, Ryan Van Bergen, and the linebackers will be charged with getting to Clausen and forcing him to keep one eye on his protection.
3. Another outside receiver steps up — Unfortunately, it looks as if Michigan will be without the services of Junior Hemingway, who emerged against Western as Tate Forcier’s favorite target on the outside but is questionable/doubtful (depending on which Rich Rodriguez quote you look at) due to an ankle injury. Greg Mathews had a quiet game, catching two passes for 18 yards, and Darryl Stonum was all but invisible while not recording a single catch. One of those guys is going to have to produce against Notre Dame if Michigan hopes to consistently move the ball through the air. It’d be nice to see Stonum have a big game, as he is more of a deep threat than Mathews, but he’d need to show us something we haven’t seen from him before in his thus-far disappointing Michigan career.
4. Michigan gets an 100-yard day out of a running back — It looks like Michigan will be unleashing Brandon Minor after he sat out the WMU game with a bum ankle. That could be huge, as Notre Dame looks susceptible up the middle, and Minor is the Michigan back most suitable for crashing between the tackles 20 times in a game. Carlos Brown looked good last week, and should get the starting nod while splitting carries with Minor. If one of those guys ends up cracking the century mark, I like Michigan’s chances.
5. Utilize the bubble screen — Notre Dame DC Jon Tenuta is known for bringing a lot of heat via the blitz, which could either completely disrupt Michigan’s zone read or open up the field for big plays. The screen option on the zone read was wide open several times last week, and if Notre Dame is bringing extra guys off the edge, Michigan should have a lot of space available on the outside. If Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson can make the correct read and get Kelvin Grady or Martavious Odoms the ball in space, we could see some game-changing plays off the zone read screen.

The more I look at this game, the more I think Michigan has a really good chance of pulling the upset. Obviously, Warren and Cissoko need to have strong games against Michael Floyd and Golden Tate, but if that happens, Michigan suddenly has a decided advantage against Notre Dame. This one is going to be close, potentially decided by a field goal, a broken play, or a single turnover. I picked Michigan to beat Notre Dame before the season, and I see no reason to change that opinion after a first game that far surpassed my expectations. Michigan 34, Notre Dame 28.

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Jonas Mouton thinks The Wolverine forgot somebody.

My employers at TheWolverine.com have been releasing weekly roundtables previewing the 2009 season. I’m working on getting in on those, but for right now, I’m going to post my picks for their most recent topic here on the blog. Their most recent roundtable ($) focused on breakout players. I’ll list my choice, then the choices (but not the commentary … you gotta pay for the good stuff) of The Wolverine’s writers. I have two cents, and they’re about to get thrown.

Breakout offensive player: Darryl Stonum, WR. I realize that Stonum has had issues living up to his sky-high potential, but he certainly isn’t the first Wolverine receiver to have his struggles as a freshman. He’s the most athletically gifted receiver on the team, and with more solid quarterbacking this season, I think Stonum will be able to show off his talent. Does anybody really think LaTerryal Savoy is going to lock down a starting outside receiver spot all season? My guess is Stonum, though sheer talent, will break into the starting lineup and have a very good season.

Chris Balas: Greg Mathews, WR.
John Borton: Brandon Minor, RB.
Michael Spath: Steve Schilling, OG.
Matt Pargoff: Steve Schilling, OG.

Breakout Defensive Player: Jonas Mouton, LB. People seem to have forgotten about Mouton, who really came on strong at the end of last year. All the buzz now is about Mike Martin, and I think Martin will have a good season, but Mouton should emerge as the biggest playmaker among the linebacking corps. He was well on his way last year, and I don’t think his spring injury will keep him off the field in the fall or away from the football.

Chris Balas: Mike Martin, DT.
John Borton: Mike Martin, DT.
Michael Spath: Troy Woolfolk, S.
Matt Pargoff: Mike Martin, DT.

Top Offensive Player: Brandon Minor, RB. This has to be Minor (or Tate Forcier, but that’s putting a hell of a lot of pressure on the kid) for the Wolverines to succeed in 2009. Michigan will employ the running back by committee, with Carlos Brown and Michael Shaw pushing for carries, but somebody needs to emerge as the number one back, and it appears that somebody will be Brandon Minor. If he can stay healthy, I expect Minor to be an All-Big Ten running back.

Chris Balas: Brandon Minor, RB.
John Borton: Tate Forcier, QB.
Michael Spath: Martavious Odoms, WR.
Matt Pargoff: Brandon Minor, RB.

Top Defensive Player: Brandon Graham, DE. Simply put, Graham is a force, and by far the most proven defensive player Michigan has to offer. I’m expecting him to challenge for the single-season sack record, despite being pushed farther inside by Greg Robinson’s defensive scheme. He’s auditioning for first-round NFL Draft status, so there’s no reason to expect anything less than beast-mode out of Graham this year.

Balas, Borton, Spath & Pargoff: Brandon Graham, DE.

Beast Mode, engaged.

Freshman Impact Player — Offense: Tate Forcier, QB. It better freakin’ be Tate Forcier. He had a great spring, and a great spring game, and currently carries the collective hopes of Wolverine Nation on his relatively slight shoulders. I think he’ll be way better than anything Michigan threw out there at quarterback last year (which isn’t really that hard), and his ability to make plays with his arm and his legs opens up a whole new dimension to Rich Rodriguez’s offense.

Chris Balas: Tate Forcier, QB.
John Borton: Tate Forcier, QB.
Michael Spath: Denard Robinson, QB.
Matt Pargoff: Brendan Gibbons, PK.

Freshman Impact Player — Defense: Vladimir Emilien, S. I must admit, the deciding factor in this pick may have been that I desperately want someone nicknamed “Vlad the Impaler” to play safety for us. Also, he has a big jump on the man I consider his closest competition in this honor, Justin Turner, by virtue of Emilien enrolling early. Both starting safety spots are there for the taking, and by the end of the year, I think Vlad will have conquered one of the spots, and impaled some opposing players in the process.

Chris Balas: Justin Turner, DB.
John Borton: Vladimir Emilien, S.
Michael Spath: Vladimir Emilien, S.
Matt Pargoff: Craig Roh, DE.

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Boubacar Cissoko makes Dr. Saturday's All-Up-and-Coming Team (Clif Reeder/Michigan Daily)

Football:

• The Doc’s All-Up-and-Coming Team: Defense — Dr. Saturday — Matt Hinton (aka Dr. Saturday, fka Sunday Morning QB) pegs Mike Martin and Boubacar Cissoko as two emerging players to watch in 2009. Both are at positions of little depth and huge importance, so it would be nice if DocSat is dead on with his picks. Luckily for us, the guy knows a thing or two about college football, and both Martin and Cissoko should step up and be big-time players this year.
• 2009 Opponent Preview: Ohio State — Varsity Blue — Tim takes a look at the Buckeyes, essentially coming to the conclusion that OSU fans better create some sort of injury-proof bio-dome for Terrelle Pryor to live in when not on the football field. The defense, on the other hand, looks damn good. Damn.
• Michigan 44, Syracuse 0! (Nerd kicks extra point) — MVictors — Nobody digs up great historical stories like Greg over at MVictors. This one involves a scorekeeper asleep at the wheel (um, at the board?) in 1909 and the ensuing confusion as to whether Michigan beat Syracuse 43-0 or 44-0. Give the man his varsity letter!
• Godzillatron, your time has come at Michigan Stadium — Maize n Brew — Count me among those who would love to see Maize n Brew Dave’s CLOVERFIELDTRON installed at the Big House. I want to see every blood vessel in Mark Dantonio’s face explode in crispy HD when Michigan lets everyone know exactly who is Little Brother.
• U-M vs. MSU recruiting; Different approach, great results, analyst says — Detroit News — Angelique Chengelis interviews recruiting guru Tom Lemming, who is impressed by both the Wolverines’ and the Spartans’ 2010 classes. Lemming has effusive praise for Devin Gardner, which is, you know, awesome and stuff.
• Henne: Spread seems fun for QB, but will it help transition to NFL? — Detroit Free Press — These Detroit headline writers really need to work on brevity. Anyways, Henne discusses the new offense, being a true freshman starting at Michigan (listen up, Tate) and how pro-ready spread quarterbacks will be. Interesting stuff.

Basketball:

• U-M finalizes non-conference basketball schedule — Detroit News — Creampuff, creampuff, creampuff, Old Spice Classic, Boston College, creampuff, Utah, creampuff, OH GOD AT KANSAS, creampuff, OH GOD UCONN.
• Vogrich is pick to click as freshman at Michigan — Lake County News-Sun — Local newspaper takes a look at incoming freshman Matt Vogrich, who was one of TSN writer Matt DeCourcey’s picks for impact freshmen in 2009-10. If Vogrich’s shooting stroke translates to the college game (and why wouldn’t it?), he could make a big splash this winter.

Other Sports:

• Former Michigan great Barry Larkin to be enshrined in College Baseball Hall of Fame – Ann Arbor News — Congrats to Larkin, who, along with Jim Abbott, is one of two players who immediately come to mind when I think of Michigan baseball. Also, solid choice on his part to choose baseball over football. I think that one worked out.
• Michigan Baseball Fight circa 1912 — Varsity Blue — Catcher named Goodloe punches ump, Branch Rickey pokes players with crutches, crutches end up in stands and opposing dugout. I smell awesome.

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• An Early Stab at the 2010 Depth Chart: Defense
• Five Things I Hope to See for the Rest of the Basketball Season
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Rich Rodriguez’s recruiting for the 2010 class has caused, to say the least, some consternation among Michigan faithful. Witness the cause and effect:

Cause: Michigan's 2010 recruiting class (image swiped from Rivals)

Effect: Run for your lives!!!!

Do the panic-stricken stick figures have a point, or is this much o noes about nothing? Today I’ll take a look at the three-star and below recruits from previous Michigan recruiting classes, and tomorrow I’ll take a look at the same caliber recruits Rich Rodriguez pulled in during his time at West Virginia. Will this tell us much about what to expect from these 2010 recruits? I have no idea. However, it’s the peak of offseason boredom, so it’s time to leave no story stone unturned. I’m using data from Rivals, which extends back to 2002, with a big assist from Mike DeSimone’s recruiting page. First, a list of the three-star and below recruits at Michigan from 2002-2006 (a point at which we can somewhat reasonably project a player’s career), with players who started at least five career games listed in bold:

2002 (10 three-star and below recruits/20 total recruits): Willis Barringer, Rondell Biggs, Mark Bihl, David Harris, Rueben Riley, Brian Thompson, Tom Berishaj, Kevin Murphy (3*), Greg Cooper, Jacob Stewart (N.R.)

2003 (4/17): Anton Campbell, Garrett Rivas, Patrick Sharrow (3*), Brandent Englemon (2*)

2004 (9/22): Jamar Adams, Mike Hart, Charles Stewart, John Thompson, Roger Allison, Keston Cheathem, Jeremy Ciulla, Grant DeBenedictis (3*), Marques Walton (2*)

2005 (12/23): Brandon Logan, Tim McAvoy, Zoltan Mesko, Mark Ortmann, LaTerryal Savoy, Carson Butler, Jason Forcier, Chris McLaurin, Chris Richards, Johnny Sears, Mister Simpson (3*), Andre Criswell (2*)

2006 (7/19): Greg Banks, Obi Ezeh, John Ferrera, Quintin Patella, Quintin Woods (3*), David Cone, Bryan Wright (2*)

Totals here: 42 three-star or below players, 16 starters. Two of those 16 starters are kickers/punters, and those guys never get above three-stars anyway, so 14/39 (striking Rivas, Zoltan, and Bryan Wright from the list) is probably a more telling figure. It seems a pretty safe bet at this point that none of the 2006 class besides Ezeh will see significant starting time (again, barring Wright), so I can say with a fair amount of confidence that for the 2002-2006 recruiting classes, 36% of three-star or below recruits ended up starting. Let’s look a little closer now.

Position Breakdown of three-star and below recruits:

QB: 2 (Forcier, Cone)
TB: 2 (Hart, Simpson)
FB: 3 (Thompson, Allison, Criswell)
WR: 1 (Savoy)
TE: 2 (Murphy, Butler)
OL: 8 (Bihl, Riley, Berishaj, Sharrow, Ciulla, DeBenedictis, McAvoy, Ortmann)
DL: 5 (Biggs, Walton, McLaurin, Banks, Ferrera)
LB: 6 (Harris, Logan, Thompson, Ezeh, Patella, Woods)
CB: 4 (Cooper, Cheathem, Richards, Sears)
S: 6 (Barringer, J. Stewart, Campbell, Englemon, Adams, C. Stewart)
K/P: 3 (Rivas, Mesko, Wright)

One thing I notice immediately is the amount of offensive linemen, which isn’t a surprise considering how many you need and the fact that they tend to be the toughest recruits to scout. Unless you’re USC, you usually are filling out every class with a couple three-star o-linemen. The other glaring point, to me, is that the safety position is heavily represented here, which seems strange for a position with only two starting spots. Then I began to think about our safety play over the last several years. This begins to make sense.

The third thing to notice is that Michigan has never recruited three-star players heavily at the skill position, something that Rodriguez is doing quite a bit of right now. The 2010 class alone already has three times as many three-star and below wideouts as Lloyd pulled in during a five-year period (four times if you count Tony Drake as a slot). A large part of this, obviously, is Michigan’s need for more receivers under Rodriguez’s system. The fact that we have two four-star wideouts committed really makes this an area of little concern for me: we need receivers, and we need a lot of them — it’s hard to pull in five four-star wideouts per year. Rich Rod is also trying to fill out an area of the roster that needed fewer players under the old system. Hence, all the three-star receivers. We’re clearly doing fine at quarterback, what with Forcier, Robsinson, and Gardner. Running back is not at panic level need yet, with Shaw already looking good, Vincent Smith impressing early, and Fitzgerald Toussaint coming in as a highly-regarded four-star. Hopkins isn’t a bad pickup, either, and could still reach four-star status upon further evaluation. Chill out, stick figures.

Better.

The big concern, however, is defense. Marvin Robinson, despite the coaching staff and Robinson both saying he’s coming in as a safety, seems destined for linebacker (or spinner/deathbacker/whatever the hell Stevie Brown is playing). There is still a glaring need at safety, as well as defensive tackle. Unless Ken Wilkins eats Drew Dileo, I don’t see a DT in that class, and right now Michigan is thin even on offers at the position. In this case, the stick figures may have a point. Commence freaking out.

I pray this is photoshopped, for fear of laughing at something I shouldn't.

It’s tough to draw conclusions out of this right now, especially with the recruiting process still ongoing (and with Pace and Wilkins, among others, still candidates for a fourth star). At the moment, I have no problem with Rodriguez’s recruiting strategy on offense. On defense, however, he needs to fill a lot of holes, especially along the line. At this point, a three-star DT may not do the job for Michigan, who has Mike Martin, Will Campbell, a Canadian guy and a converted fullback as the entirety of their depth at the position. Yes, we’re implementing a three-man front of sorts under Greg Robinson, but that’s still mighty thin.

More on this will come tomorrow, as I look at the success of Rodriguez in developing three-star and below talent at West Virginia.

Similar Posts:

• An Early Stab at the 2010 Depth Chart: Defense
• Wolverines on the Web Watches People Run
• Knight to Rutgers & Your Signing Day Primer
• Putting Michigan’s Recruiting Class in Context
• Wolverines on the Web Goes Old School

The Maize Rage will me much larger next year. And more ragin'. Definitely more ragin'

Football:

• No. 46 Michigan — Rivals.com — Rivals’ Tom Dienhart gives his rundown of the Wolverines as they come in No. 46 in Rivals’ Top 120 Countdown. I can’t say my expectations are much higher than that right now, so this seems to fall in line with a realistic outlook on the season.
• 2009 Opponent Preview: Wisconsin — Varsity Blue — New fat running back, same old Badgers. We’ll see if Bielema adjusts to losses on both lines, as Wisconsin seems to return practically everything else.
• Recapping Rich Rod, Part 1 — Wolverine Liberation Army — Chitownblue over at the always-entertaining (and quirky, to say the least) WLA gives his take on Year One of the RichRod era. Once you get through the Stalin references (seriously), there’s really good stuff in here. Also, you have to love any ratings that are measured in Molotov Cocktails.
• 2009 Michigan Football, Position by Position: Defensive Tackle and Defensive Tackle Recruiting — Maize n Brew — Maize n Brew Dave takes a look at the DT spot for Michigan this year, as well as our recruiting at the position. He loves Mike Martin, and I am not one to disagree: the kid looks like he’ll be a beast. The DT recruiting? Not so much.
• Catching Up With Drew Dileo — UMGoBlog — A quick interview with 2010 slot commit Drew Dileo, plus some nice video of him as a sophomore.

Basketball:

• Maize Rage is getting Larger — MVictors — Student ticket sales for basketball have more than quadrupled since last season, and Greg over at MVictors loves it, as well as the school’s decision to make student seating first-come, first-serve. I’m one of those new season ticket holders, and I’m excited for a louder, more electric atmosphere in Crisler next season. Winning will do that to a place. So will more college students.

Hockey:

• Three Players Selected; Omaha to the WCHA — The Blog That Yost Built — Three future Wolverines — Chris Brown, Kevin Lynch, and Mac Bennett — were selected in the NHL Draft. Yost Built pulls together links to commentary on the three, plus gives their take on UNO leaving the CCHA. My take, in two words: that’s crappy.

Other Sports:

• Pictures of Michigan’s new digs — MFlowBlue — Michigan’s leading lacrosse blog puts together a nice slide show of the new athletic complex.
• Michigan Places Fifth in Final Directors’ Cup Standings — MGoBlue — For once, would Stanford mind letting someone else win this thing? This is getting old.
• M-Den = M-Done?? — Spawn of M Zone — M Den gets outbid by eSports for the rights to be Michigan’s official merchandising partner. Get your certified, official gear over at www.mgoblueshop.com now.

Similar Posts:

• An Early Stab at the 2010 Depth Chart: Defense
• Wolverines on the Web Talks About Practice
• Putting Michigan’s Recruiting Class in Context
• An Early Stab at the 2010 Depth Chart: Offense
• Wolverines on the Web Goes Old School